Utah Tech won an 18-8 run-rule victory over Washington State on Apr. 15 at Bruce Hurst Field, led by Kyle McDaniel’s standout performance that included a home run, triple, and a career-high six runs batted in.
The win was significant for Utah Tech (23-14/2-1 Western Athletic Conference), which maintained the lead throughout the game and scored in six of its seven offensive innings. The team capitalized early with four consecutive two-out walks in the first inning before Finnegan Stewart drove in his first of four runs for the night. Mays Madsen followed with a bases-clearing double to give Utah Tech a quick 4-0 advantage.
Petey Soto Jr. added to the lead with his third home run of the season, hitting it over center field to make it 5-0. Although Washington State (19-18) responded with two runs in both the third and fourth innings, Utah Tech answered back each time and extended its lead further. A key moment came when McDaniel hit his second grand slam of the season—an opposite-field shot—making him the first Trailblazer during their NCAA Division I era to achieve this feat twice in one year. This also marked Utah Tech’s school record sixth grand slam of the season, all occurring at home.
McDaniel later tripled to drive in two more runs as part of a four-run sixth inning that pushed Utah Tech’s lead into double digits. Despite Washington State scoring four times in their half of the seventh inning to prolong play briefly, Stewart’s double sealed victory by driving in two final runs needed for the run-rule finish.
Utah Tech collected eleven hits compared to Washington State’s seven and benefited from eleven walks along with four hit batters allowed by Cougar pitching. In addition to McDaniel’s contributions at bat (2-for-4), both Madsen and Stewart went 2-for-2 with one walk each and matched career highs by driving in four runs apiece; Miller Durham added two hits and three runs scored while Ty Johnsen drew four walks and scored four times himself.
Senior righthander Ryan Martinez earned his fourth win out of relief after pitching just over two scoreless innings without allowing more than one hit or walk while striking out one batter.
Looking ahead, Utah Tech will resume Western Athletic Conference play this weekend as they travel for a three-game series against rival Utah Valley.
